


In the Air Tonight

by Pellaaearien



Series: In Other Words [2]
Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Love Confessions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 00:45:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13559085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pellaaearien/pseuds/Pellaaearien
Summary: Lucifer never thought he'd say the words, but when it comes to the Detective, he's learned to expect the unexpected.The Date Saga chapters from 100 Ways, collected and extended.





	In the Air Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> This is a compilation of chapters, both past and future, from 100 Ways. Chapters 5, 12, and 37 are here, 37 with some slight emendations. If you've read everything and don't fancy reading it again, start from the *** which is where the new material begins. Think of this like an episode recap, getting you up to speed before the events of the next story!
> 
> Eternal gratitude and undying love to wollfgang and ariaadagio for the beta read! You both rock!

Chloe’s first breath of fresh air as she exited the restaurant was some of the sweetest she’d ever tasted. She breathed in great gulps of it, trying to calm her racing heart, telling herself she wasn’t panicking.

Rage sat heavy on her chest and roiled in her gut. She clenched her jaw so tightly pain burst behind her eyes as she tried to convince herself that hunting the guy down and punching him, satisfying as it might be in the moment, wouldn’t be worth the assault charges she’d get landed with.

She started walking with no direction in mind, just needing to be in motion. She was resolutely not thinking about what the asshole had said to her - by which of course she meant every word was playing in crystal clarity on a loop in her brain.

_C’mon, Chloe. No need to stick up your nose. We both know the truth. It’s time you dropped the ice queen act and admitted it; you’re no better than the rest of us._

She wiped away angry tears. He didn’t deserve any of her tears, even angry ones. She knew, rationally, that in the clear light of day she would be able to shrug off and disregard his ugly words, and feel competent again as she put cases to bed. She was a Decker. She was a damn good cop and a kickass single mom. She knew her own worth.

But not tonight. Tonight was supposed to have been a fun, flirty diversion, and she’d stepped out of her shell accordingly. Now, she felt defenseless, and she stopped at a random street corner, wrapping her arms around herself despite the balmy LA night, in lieu of the physical walls she was lacking. Where had things gone so completely wrong?

She gathered her scattered thoughts like she was herding cats. Trixie was at Dan’s, and Chloe had a day off tomorrow. She needed to call herself an Uber. She needed to pull herself together and get past this. It was hardly the first bad date she’d been on. She needed… she needed…

_Lucifer._

There he was, stepping out of a club across the street, the picture of careless indolence as he threw his head back in a laugh at something his scantily clad companion had said. She had to blink several times to make certain she hadn’t imagined him.

For a moment, she just watched him. It was impossible not to, like staring at the sun. She might have an immunity to his mojo, but there was no defense against the natural charisma Lucifer exuded. The comparison to the sun was accurate - no matter where he was, everyone gravitated toward him.

Before she’d come to a decision about whether she wanted to get his attention, he looked across the street as if she already had. Seeing her, she watched his brows knit in concern.

Suddenly, he was next to her. She hadn’t even seen him cross the road. She felt untethered, drifting. Was this how people felt when Lucifer turned his mojo on them?

“Chloe?” His use of her name both startled and grounded her. For the first time, she felt like she could think clearly. “Are you alright?”

The words of her assailant ringing in her ears, she thought of bluffing, of getting herself back to her empty house so she could battle her demons alone.

It was the genuine concern in his voice that undid her. She didn’t _want_ to.

Chloe bit her lip, looking up into his dark, lambent eyes, feeling more secure than she had all evening, and said something she’d probably regret later.

“I am, now.”

*

It started as a typical night for Lucifer. He breezed out of the exclusive party buoyed on the high of good company and conversation (as well as the literal high of drugs and alcohol) with a lovely woman on his arm and a full night of debauchery ahead. All was as it should be.

Then his gaze fell on the shape of Chloe Decker, standing across the way, and his world ground to a halt.

He turned to his companion. “Are you all right to get yourself home, darling?” he asked. She blinked, but without waiting for a response, he tapped one of the valets on the shoulder.

“Call this lovely lady a cab, would you?” Returning to his erstwhile bedmate, he slipped her a wad of hundreds. Luckily he hadn’t promised himself for the evening, only implied. “That should about cover it. Sorry, sweetheart. Perhaps another time.”

Loose ends taken care of, he crossed the street to Chloe, who was hugging her arms around herself like she was cold, or (as was more likely in LA despite her delightful off-the-shoulder number) to protect herself.

Carefully, he suppressed his natural instinct, which was to bring the fury of Hell against any who would even consider hurting Chloe. But the last thing he wanted was to unnerve his partner further.

Something was very wrong with Chloe. It was obvious she wasn’t all right. But when she told him she was, he felt his world start turning again - centered on her.

“Take my jacket,” he said, in lieu of anything more overtly mawkish. “It’s cold outside.” He shrugged out of his blazer, waiting for her slight nod before draping it over her shoulders. It wasn’t cold, except comparatively speaking, but he pretended not to notice the way she automatically clutched it closer, warming his cockles at the same time as it darkened his fury towards whatever had hurt her.

Spotting a nearby bench, he inquired, “Would you like to sit down?”

“Okay.” She nodded and began to move woodenly toward it, Lucifer’s mind already running frantically through the possibilities and not liking the conclusions he was arriving at.

They sat and she settled close to him, tension leaving her body, and he realised that she felt _safe_ with him. With the Devil.

And Linda questioned why he hesitated to reveal himself to Chloe.

“I’m not made of glass, Lucifer,” Chloe said, a hint of irritation creeping into her voice, and Lucifer noticed that he was still gently holding her forearm.

“I have never thought so,” he said, faintly scandalized. Humans were all so bloody fragile. But the detective had always struck him as being so… unyielding. Which was why it was such a blow to see her like this.

She subsided. “Sorry. I know. Just… a sensitive topic right now, I guess.”

“What happened, Detective?” he asked, as gently as he could. He still wanted to go on a rampage, but he needed to know who to direct his anger at first.

“Just a bad date, Lucifer, nothing to get worked up over,” she muttered, which of course had the opposite effect. She’d chosen to grace some mortal cretin with her favour and they’d had the temerity to _hurt_ her?

He simply raised his eyebrows, hoping she’d elaborate, not trusting his voice. She didn’t deserve to have him growl at her, but, oh, her date… her date deserved all the devious ingenuity he could muster on this plane. It had been so long since he’d properly tortured someone…

“He said some things, I stormed out, I’ll be fine,” she said, sounding very much like she was trying to convince herself.

Lucifer cursed silently. Now more than ever he wished his powers worked on the detective, so he could discover what offence he was supposed to be punishing.

“Lucifer? Why do you want to have sex with me?”

The question effectively focussed the entirety of his attention back on the detective. Of all the things he’d imagined her saying, that had certainly not been among them.

Before he had a chance to muster a response, she nudged him with her shoulder. “On second thought, forget I asked. You’ll actually answer honestly, and I don’t think I could handle that right now.”

He waited, not needing his power to sense that she was on the cusp of revealing what was troubling her. It took his mind off the distressing dilemma that he didn’t actually have an answer for her.

“You know, I blame you, in a way,” she said, and he bristled instinctively despite her teasing tone. “I’ve gotten used to your… You might be persistent as all hell but it’s not like you’re actually _pushy_ … I can’t explain it.”

The smirk Lucifer made at Chloe’s unintentional pun faded instantly. “And did someone… _push_?” he inquired dangerously.

“Oh yeah,” Chloe drawled, and he could tell that she _wanted_ to say it, to confide in someone with a vested interest in defending her. “Everything was fine until he basically told me I’d be going home with him at the end of the night.”

Lucifer’s fists clenched.

“When I told him we might be getting a bit ahead of ourselves, he completely went off. Started ranting about how I should be grateful, that as a single mom who spends her days with LA’s most notorious playboy, and what with the movie…” She broke off, and Lucifer closed his eyes, just in case, and counted back from a hundred in his native tongue, concentrating very, _very_ intently on maintaining his glamour. “Well, he expected certain things,” Chloe finished, her voice sounding distant, her warmth reassuring him that he hadn’t lost his hold on his glamour and caused her to flee.

“Hey, Lucifer, relax, it’s okay.” Suddenly it was her hand on his arm.

“It most certainly is not,” Lucifer replied. “Just tell me who I’m going to kill, Detective. I won’t let this stand.”

“You’re not going to be killing anyone, Lucifer,” Chloe scoffed. “I don’t need you defending my honour or whatever this is, so just stop it. I told the guy where he could shove it, and that’s the end of it. Okay?”

It wasn’t, not by a long shot, but Lucifer found himself unwilling to leave Chloe’s side to seek punishment.

“You are a _remarkable_ woman, Detective,” he said instead, finally feeling calm enough to meet her eyes. “I’m certainly no expert on filial relations but anyone can see that how you care for your spawn is nothing short of a miracle. You continue to work with me, even though I admit that on occasion I might not be the… _easiest_ person to deal with.” Chloe chuckled, and he grinned at her.

“Not to mention, you did stellar work in Hot Tub High School, and then, because humans have ridiculous notions about propriety, you fought successfully against that legacy to become an excellent detective.”

Chloe was staring at him, and he pushed on. “Anyone would be the luckiest bastard in all Creation to have you look twice at them, and I should know.”

At this she hummed and laid her head on his shoulder. Lucifer only tensed for a moment - he was getting more used to these casual gestures of intimacy.

“Hmm, you’re right,” she agreed. “I guess I just needed someone to remind me of that tonight. Thanks.”

“Any time you’d like a litany of your many charms, Detective,” he responded as a matter of course, and it was only when Chloe smacked him lightly on the arm that he realised how else his words might have been construed.

“Oh, bollocks, I didn’t mean it like _that_. This time, at least,” he assured her, horrified.

“I know, Lucifer, and that’s what I mean,” Chloe replied easily. “You might be propositioning me every other word but you also back off when I tell you to. It… made me forget that a lot of guys aren’t like that.”

Lucifer grimaced. That fact was a particularly sore spot with him, and he usually tried not to think about it too much.

“You didn’t even sleep with me when I showed up drunk at your place and threw myself at you,” she said, still with a certain element of wonder in her voice that made Lucifer swallow another wave of sick fury.

“Because, Detective, as any responsible devil knows, inebriated consent is no consent at all,” he told her. “Your reaction when you awoke the next morning proves that.”

“I just figured you’d take the opportunity given that you can’t use your mojo to get me into bed with you,” Chloe said, and Lucifer physically recoiled, fighting a surge of revulsion at the thought. Her eyes widened, flashing to his.

“Lucifer, I’m sorry.” She sighed. “You’re here comforting me, you don’t deserve me taking this out on you. I didn’t mean that.”

Lucifer let out a shaky breath. It wasn’t often that anyone apologised to him, let alone so sincerely. And she still didn’t believe he was the Devil, so had no way of knowing how much he despised the way his natural ability had been perverted into a mockery of itself.

“For what it’s worth, Detective, I can only draw out desires that are already present, not influence the desires themselves - apart from the obvious.” He gestured to himself. She shook her head, grinning, and the moment passed.

“I know that, Lucifer,” Chloe said. “I do. I never meant to accuse you of… You’re the most consent-oriented person I know.” And there she was complimenting him again. Was today opposite day?

“I’m really glad you were here, Lucifer,” Chloe told him, resting her head on his shoulder again. For a moment he felt the habitual spark of rage at the suspicion that it was exactly like something his father would have set up, but it was strangely muted. Even if it was orchestrated - the date, the party, all of it - didn’t change the fact that he wanted to be here for the detective, helping her remember her true worth. It felt like a revelation, but also something he’d known for a while.

It wasn’t until after he’d assured her of the same that he realized he still didn’t have an answer to the question she’d asked.

As Lucifer looked at Chloe, wrapped in his jacket, eyes closed with her head on his shoulder, it felt like something had shifted. He stood breathlessly on the precipice, waiting to fall.

* * *

 “I’ll drive you home.”

Chloe blinked up at Lucifer, still slow to catch up with the evening’s many unexpected turns. The appalling things her date had said to her still stung, lingering like a bad smell, though Lucifer was doing his level best to emulate a fresh breeze.

She wanted to protest. She was perfectly capable of calling an Uber and getting herself home. But she didn’t want to be alone.

It seemed a terrible admission, given the things she’d just been accused of, and besides which was a _very_ dangerous attitude to have when spending time with Lucifer. Still, the thought of going back to an empty house was sufficiently horrifying that the words were out of her mouth before she could think better of them.

“Don’t want to go home,” she murmured, and Lucifer looked at her sharply before nodding.

“Very well, Detective.”

*

Lucifer had his arm around her the entire time the valet was bringing his Corvette around. She thought she should tell him to stop, except it felt so nice. Eventually, concern for her image won out and she shrugged a little at Lucifer’s arm, only to have it wrap around her more tightly.

“What are you doing? Lucifer, I’m fine,” she hissed, to cover her lack of actual displeasure, and Lucifer looked down at her very seriously.

“I apologise, Detective. Keeping hold of you is the only thing currently stopping me from going after that sorry bastard and ripping him limb from limb,” he said, his voice dropping into a lower register with every word. The red gleam in his eyes must have been a trick of the light.

It should have unnerved her, the way he was talking, but she’d never felt anything other than safe with Lucifer.

“Of course, if you would prefer me to desist, I will abide by your wishes,” he gritted out, oddly formal, and Chloe knew it for the truth. Lucifer might have been trying to get into her pants since day one, but he always took no for an answer. Unlike some. She shuddered.

“Oh… No. That’s all right then,” she heard herself say. Lucifer gripped her more tightly in response, heat bleeding through the material of his jacket from his touch. Luckily, the car arrived at that moment, keeping her from thinking too hard about the comforting sensation.

Lucifer actually held the passenger door for her, solicitous as ever, but she couldn’t help but notice that his knuckles were white where he gripped the door. It further drove home the knowledge that his earlier threat was not idle (and she should really be used to the idea by now that Lucifer didn’t make idle threats). He really wanted to hunt down her date.

She shook her head. The guy wasn’t worth the trouble Lucifer would be in, even if the idea sounded appealing to her right at the moment.

Chloe didn’t pay much attention to Lucifer’s driving along the way, aside from a vague confirmation that they were headed to Lux. Her thoughts were churning, not unlike that moment so long ago when she stood in the shower pondering all the things she’d seen Lucifer do but couldn’t explain. Such occurrences had become so commonplace now it was almost a shock to realise that she had many more to add to the list.

His genuine surprise when she’d shot him that night, as though he’d never seen his own blood before - that hadn’t been acting. She knew acting.

Then there was the sheer number of people who had apparently spontaneously gone insane after a mere look from him. Jimmy Barnes was just the tip of the iceberg. Benny Choi had gone to jail a gibbering wreck. Renny had thrown himself off that building. Oh, and she’d almost forgotten the girl who had bullied Trixie, though she’d dismissed it at the time, who had apparently completely changed and now wouldn’t speak to anyone.

After Renny, the list of traumatised suspects seemed to have slowed, but that was more than enough to be getting on with. Laid out like that, she’d hesitate to even let Lucifer near Trixie if she wasn’t absolutely convinced of his trustworthiness. What she’d said on that witness stand was as much the truth as what he’d admitted - somewhere along the line (even despite all the stunts he’d pulled) she’d gone beyond “needing the eggs” and grown to rely on him as a person. He’d proven there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her - she knew he was responsible for her recovery from near-death, and even though memories of a certain Candy Morningstar cast long shadows over that period of time, she never forgot that he was the reason her little girl didn’t have to grow up without a mother. Maybe it was time for her to do the same for him.

She’d noticed he’d been more distracted at work lately - his silence during the entire ride was telling - and wondered if she might be able to find a distraction from her problems by helping him with his. If he’d let her, that was.

She glanced over at her partner, and that appeared to be the icebreaker they’d been waiting for. They both started speaking at once.

She smiled. Lucifer didn’t, though he did arch an eyebrow to encourage her to continue.

“You’ve been very quiet,” she said softly, not quite teasing.

“I could say the same of you, Detective,” he replied, and there was a hint of the usual banter in his tone.

“I’ve been thinking,” she admitted, and his eyebrows drew down.

“Hopefully nothing about what that stain of a human said to you,” he growled, and there was that warm feeling in the pit of her stomach again.

She shook her head lazily and Lucifer returned his attention to the road. “Good.”

It brought up another memory. No matter what she’d seen, no matter what he’d done, he’d always been supportive of her. From the very first, he’d advised her to trust her instincts, where Dan had done his level best to convince her she was chasing after shadows.

“I would have called you,” she said instead, surprised, not at the words, but that she was saying them aloud. “If you hadn’t been there.” And hadn’t that been a coincidence? He’d clearly been as surprised to see her as she’d been to see him. (And she hadn’t missed how the girl who’d been on his arm had mysteriously vanished). After all the vitriol her date had spewed, she hadn’t wanted Dan, or even Trixie. She wanted Lucifer.

The thought wasn’t as terrifying as it had once been.

When had being with Lucifer become more comfortable than sitting at home with her favourite trash TV and a bottle of wine?

It went beyond being able to be vulnerable around him - sometimes it felt like he was the only person in her life who didn’t want her to be someone she wasn’t. Their personalities were diametric opposites, sure, but between her taking care of Trixie and him wrapped up in the business of running Lux, they didn’t actually spend that much time together outside work. It was a further shock to her system to realise that she wanted that to change. She’d been subconsciously (and also consciously) keeping him at arm’s length, but he’d insinuated himself regardless. She just wished it hadn’t taken this nightmare of a date to show her the truth.

“I should hope so,” Lucifer replied, bringing her back to the moment, sounding like he was trying for his usual bravado, but there was a strange note in his voice. “Please do inform me any time there’s a man in your vicinity I ought to eviscerate.”

Chloe blamed the night she’d had for the fact that the shiver his growl sent down her spine wasn’t entirely unpleasant. Lucifer paused. “Or woman. I’m an equal opportunity torturer.”

A thought occurred to Chloe. “I don’t want you going after him. _Or_ sending Maze,” she added, and knew from his expression that she’d caught him.

“Detective,” he nearly whined, like she’d just taken away his favourite toy, “he requires punishment.”

Chloe bit the inside of her cheek. She’d often wondered just how much of an outlet their cases were providing Lucifer, and whether it was actually preventing him from seeking extracurricular punishment.

“There are a lot of shitty guys out there, Lucifer,” she said quellingly (she hoped). He just huffed.

“Yes, but none of them squandered the opportunity to go on a date with you tonight, now did they?” he asked, and this was the opposite of helpful. Whenever he came up with lines like that she lost her ability to remain objective. She’d also gotten distracted from her original intent, but it was too late - they’d arrived at Lux.

Somehow, Lucifer was at her door before she could even open it, and Chloe frowned. The evidence kept piling up, and it was becoming harder and harder to turn a blind eye. She’d let far too many opportunities pass her by, and she wondered why she was so willing to overlook her instincts where Lucifer was concerned. It had been so long, it was difficult for her to distinguish fear from faith any more - was tonight really the night she wanted to push for answers?

But as they took the elevator to the penthouse together (a rare occurrence in and of itself) his nearness, and her reaction to it, made her realize something.

Change was in the air tonight. One way or another.

* * *

Lucifer poured them drinks as Chloe sat at the bar, still feeling the oddness that had come over her. Tonight felt… different. She didn’t know how to describe it. The air between them felt charged, and yet neither of them spoke of it or even reacted to it. She accepted her drink with a smile. Lucifer took his own over to the piano, looking out over the city. It was the farthest they’d been apart since he’d found her - the first indication that he was aware of the tension between them.

Chloe spun on her stool, leaning back against the bar as she watched him.

“You know, I really thought I could do it,” she said, apropos of nothing. Lucifer paused, turning to look back at her.

“Do what, Detective?”

She sipped her drink, glad for something to do with her hands. “The whole dating thing. When Dr. Garrity at the hospital seemed interested, I thought it could be a sign, you know, dip my toes again. And this guy, he was a cop from a different department. He's always been friendly, I thought it would be a safe test run.” She shook her head.

Lucifer’s face was like a thundercloud. “Yes, well, you can thank my Dad for that one.” He leaned against the piano, resting his elbow on the top.

Chloe looked at him. “Your dad is responsible for my shitty date.” She felt faint stirrings of unease. When he’d been in the hospital he’d been obsessed with his dad in a way she hadn’t seen in him for quite a while. She’d hoped the intervening time would have been enough to allow the feelings to settle but apparently not.

Lucifer nodded, ignoring her dubious tone the way he always did. “All part of His grand plan to push us together, no doubt.” He pushed off against the lid, taking a swig from his glass.

Chloe frowned. Not for the first time, she wondered if his stint in the hospital had done more harm than good - he was making less sense than usual.

“So, what, your dad’s into matchmaking now?” She laughed. Lucifer didn’t.

“You have no idea.” He held the glass loosely in his hand, gesturing obliquely with it, but as usual, didn’t seem inclined to elaborate. Chloe decided it was better just to move on.

“It... made me realize something,” she began, sitting up slightly, holding her drink in both hands, throwing caution to the winds. She was tired of not talking about this. Lucifer closed his eyes briefly, like he was preparing to receive the worst news of his life.

“And what might that be, Detective?” he asked evenly, opening them again. Fortunately, Chloe couldn’t be any more nervous, so his reaction failed to throw her. It wasn’t a cliff she was standing on: it was a diving board. The only way down was to take the plunge.

“They all lied to me,” she said, contemplating her drink. “Dan betrayed my trust. That guy tonight. Plenty of people before Dan, too.” She took a fortifying sip. “But not you.”

She found the strength to meet his eyes and found him staring back at her, like it was the last thing he’d expected her to say.

He swallowed convulsively. “Well… yes. Always the truth with me, Detective.”

“I know.” She rose, approaching him and placing her drink on top of the piano, resting her elbows on the lid. “I can trust you,” she said. The light in the apartment cast odd shadows on his face, his eyes dark and fixed on hers. “That’s why I’m glad you were here tonight. No matter the reason.”

Lucifer nodded, once, like some unseen condition had been met. He set his empty tumbler down, looking at her very seriously. Chloe’s stomach swooped. She suddenly knew what he was going to ask before he asked it… and what her answer would be.

***

Lucifer looked at Chloe, leaning on his piano across from him, edged in light. Gorgeous. Trusting. Willing. Something broke open inside him, the final chink in the dam. There would be no going back, after this.

He made himself ask the question. “Chloe… may I kiss you?”

“Mmm, that depends,” she murmured, luscious lips curving. “Are you expecting any horny stewardesses in the near future?” She leaned ever so slightly closer. Lucifer huffed, afraid to breathe, lest he shatter the moment.

“No, but then I wasn’t exactly expecting _her_ the first time, either.”

Chloe hummed again, low and sultry, and he felt his heart stutter to a stop before picking up double time, thudding against his ribs. “How about insane professors with an unhealthy _Saw_ obsession?” Her voice grew quieter and he found himself moving nearer of his own volition.

“I make no guarantees,” he replied in the same tone, and her laugh drew him further into her space still, a moth to a flame.

“You know, the longer you wait, the more chance something’s gonna-”

He closed the remaining distance at once and Chloe made a surprised noise that was muffled by his lips, hands lifting automatically to keep him close.

Lucifer devoured her lips hungrily, like a man emerging from starvation. Their kiss on the beach had caught him off guard, and he hadn’t expected it to be repeated. Now he was being given a second chance.

Her lips were just as soft as he remembered, molding themselves to his with intoxicating ease.

He’d polished his memory of their first kiss to a rosy shine, until he was almost convinced the remembrance belonged to a different man, another life. Afterward, he tried to bury the moment with an endless parade of lips and hands and bodies, always searching for a similar sensation, unsuccessfully.

Chloe tasted like redemption. Like the first time he’d decided to burst his shackles and leave Hell for Earth, spitting defiance and filled with wonder. He cupped her chin, smiling as he stared into her eyes. Her lips were his forbidden fruit, filling him with sweetness he didn’t deserve, and yet he couldn’t stop wanting more. She mesmerized him.

Breaking apart, even for an instant, felt like emptiness. When their lips locked together, Lucifer knew he’d found what he’d been searching for. As though he’d never stopped falling, and Chloe finally brought him to rest. He surrendered to the sensation, greedily taking all that she offered.

 

Chloe sank into his lips like the first taste of home that makes you realize how long you’ve been away. The odd combination of newness and familiarity was intoxicating, and she pressed closer, seeking more. His hands, low on her back, made a slow trip up toward her shoulders, igniting every inch he touched.

Chloe’s hands were on his shoulders; she gripped his vest, pulling him closer to her (or her to him, she wasn’t sure). He went willingly, plundering her mouth with consummate skill. Neither of them could seem to stop. They came up for air before diving in with renewed fervour, as though they were working through the reckoning of kisses that had built up since their first on the beach so long ago.

Lucifer’s grip on her tightened, bringing her closer still, like he was afraid she would slip away. She linked her arms around his neck, and he used his new leverage to pull her over to his side, flipping their positions, his back against the piano. Chloe walked backwards, pulling him with her, no particular destination in mind, not even fully aware she was doing it until she felt the edge of the couch against her legs.

If she'd thought about it for even a second, she would have hesitated, but before she knew it she was pulling him down with her. They landed on the couch with a soft whump, Lucifer careful to hold his weight off her. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Chloe leaned up and joined their lips again. He sighed, opening for her tongue, and she shivered at his surrender. His slim hips fit perfectly with hers, his weight a comfortable presence on top of her, and she knew she was exactly where she wanted to be. Maybe forever.

Kissing Lucifer felt like flying. He engaged her tongue in a passionate dance, and Chloe allowed herself to be devoured. If she could have crawled down his throat, she would have. The spring that had been winding tighter and tighter within her had finally been released, and the recoil was nearly violent in its intensity. There was an edge of desperation in Lucifer’s movements, too, even as he let her take control. Despite all the wild emotions passing between them, neither of them sought to escalate matters. For now, kissing was more than enough.

Lucifer stared down at her with wonder. “Chloe,” he said, sounding like the word was squeezed from his lungs. Her heart flipped in her chest at his tone. “What are we doing?”

Chloe looked back at him, the truth sitting heavy on her tongue, yet unable to go past her lips.

“What does it look like we’re doing?” she asked instead, surprised by how husky her voice sounded. Lucifer’s eyes darkened in response, but he still shook his head.

“I don’t understand,” he said again, just as he had on the beach. “You said you know I’ve never lied to you, and yet you don’t believe me when I tell you who - and what - I am.”

“What, that you’re the Devil?” Chloe asked, and Lucifer nodded solemnly. She ran her fingers absently over his vest, considering what to tell him, as Lucifer remained very still.

It wasn’t that she disbelieved him when he said he was the Devil - she’d long since become accustomed to the weirdness of someone willingly offering the information. He clearly believed what he was saying was the absolute truth, and it broke her heart when she thought about it. Because she knew, as she’d told him once before, that it wasn’t who he really was.

“I believe in _you_ ,” she said at last, cupping his cheek in her hand. Lucifer’s breath hitched as he watched her hungrily. “Whatever you decide to call yourself, I know you.”

Lucifer smiled, but it was a sad expression. “You’re willing to work within my metaphor?”

“Sure, if you want to put it that way,” Chloe agreed easily. “It was you who decided to put an end to all that,” she reminded him. “So I tried to go back to the way we were before. I tried to get past it. And I’m tired. I’m tired of having to pretend that this,” she gestured between them, “isn’t here.”

Lucifer swallowed audibly.

“I want this with you,” Chloe told him, the words a flood of relief within her as she finally said them aloud. “I have for a very long time.” She was tired of fighting her own feelings. And she knew Lucifer well enough to understand there had been more to his sudden Vegas jaunt than just an attempt to ditch her, even if she didn’t know what it was. Better for him to reject her outright than for them to continue dancing around whatever this was. She held her breath, waiting for Lucifer’s response.

* * *

 Lucifer was tired of avoiding the truth. He never lied, but pretending he wasn’t falling more for Chloe every day, letting selective omissions stack to the point of collapse, was bloody exhausting.

Say what you will about his Father, (and he had,) He set a pretty trap. After all, the best snare is one the subject has no desire to escape.

Lucifer had given it his level best, tried to give Chloe back her freedom of choice when he found himself annoyingly incapable of making a clean break. Their lives would have been easier if she’d taken the out. But here they were.

He still believed this whole situation had been a setup. In a way, he almost hoped it was. If it wasn’t, if Chloe had free will all along and her choice had still inexplicably fallen on him... This was the one and only time he would rather not know the truth. He knew with perfect clarity how this was all going to end. He was going to have to reveal his identity to her once and for all - he refused to allow her to continue with the facade once they were romantically involved, as it was the furthest thing from fair to her - and once he did, she would run screaming, as she ought. His charming little vacation on Earth would be over.

He wished he’d managed to postpone the inevitable conclusion, to string things along so he could keep some of Chloe to himself for just a little longer, but it was far too late for that now. His attempts to keep her at arm’s length had been halfhearted at best. Again and again, she’d accepted him, letting him into her life, her family, her heart, and had insinuated herself into his in the process. She deserved better than this, better than him. Letting her go would be the right thing to do.

Then again, since when had he ever done the right thing? He was, after all, the Devil.

He looked at Chloe lying beneath him (and oh, how that image made his heart fill to bursting with what-might-be), her expression open and understanding as she waited for him to speak. She did know him, better than almost anyone, and he would never let anyone else this close to him again. His Father’s manipulations aside, Lucifer knew this was the closest he would ever come to love. He’d lost the will to continue fighting it, fighting her. He took a deep breath.

“I tried,” he began. “I tried to prevent it. I tried to fight it. When neither of those were successful, I tried to pretend it wasn’t happening. But the more I tried, the closer it strayed to lying, which is something I never want to do. Especially to you.” He reached out to stroke her face, steeling himself to speak the words for the first and only time. The words he never thought he’d say.

“The truth is… Chloe, I love you.”

There was no sudden burst of light or angelic choir, no fundamental shift in the auspices of the cosmos, not that he would have wanted there to be. But Chloe’s eyes widened, and her breath caught. She looked at him in such a way that he could almost imagine he was someone else. Someone who had a chance of truly being looked at like that. Speaking the words had lit a flame inside him, warm and bright. His body felt light and airy, as though he’d just hit the most spectacular high - it was like he remembered his grace used to feel.

Then Chloe opened her mouth to speak, her eyes still shining as they held his. “Lucifer… I-”

But Lucifer swallowed her remaining sentence in a kiss, suddenly unwilling to hear what he knew she was about to reply. He hadn’t forgotten how this was destined to end, and he knew that the memory of those words spoken to Lucifer the man would be too much to bear when she inevitably ran from the Devil.

Chloe broke the kiss, looking up at him quizzically, and Lucifer offered a soft smile.

“I know,” he said. She’d been telling him without words, so many times, since they first met. “Just... let me say it for now. Please? Let me have this.”

Her eyes softened as though she understood - knowing her, she maybe even did - and she nodded once, running a gentle hand through his hair. “Okay,” she agreed, smiling. “C’mere.”

He obliged, and they passed the rest of the night wrapped up in each other, going no further than lazily swapped kisses, a fever haze that felt more like a dream than any sort of reality he’d believed himself capable of having. They both maintained an unspoken agreement to take it slow, like they had the last time, and Lucifer was glad that Chloe didn’t try to force the issue. Her every touch and smile and kiss brought him equal parts delight and despair. She was his peace as well as his greatest pain. He understood how humans could become addicted, now. Even Hell wasn’t this clever.  

He knew he was living on borrowed time, but he resolved to enjoy every second of it. He’d been given an unexpected but brief chance at happiness, and he would grasp it with both hands like the Devil he was.

*

After that night, nothing changed between them. They were circumspect in public, working side by side as they always had, only now they kissed sometimes, too. Chloe spent a lot more time at his penthouse after hours. It was… good. Easy, almost insidiously so. The only thing that threatened to pop their pleasant bubble was his mother’s obsession with getting home. Were it not for that, Lucifer could have seen his way to extending their time as long as he could - weeks, maybe even months. It was why he was almost glad for the implied deadline. No length of time could ever be enough, and the longer he remained, the harder it would be when he lost it all.

He gave himself a week. Seven whole days of bliss. Infinitesimal in the grand scheme of things, but also more than he’d imagined he’d ever have. As the date he’d set for revealing himself to Chloe approached, he committed everything about her to the annals of his memory. It had been a good run. He’d had two meagre years with her, yet those two years had been filled with more meaning than all of the preceding five put together - more meaning than the rest of his life would have, if he was being honest, (which he always was).

He told himself he was grateful to have had this time with her, no matter if his Father was the one responsible, or if Lucifer had managed to carve it out on his own. He told himself that, even when the preemptive weight of loss swelled to choke him. Even when his body was flooded with white-hot rage at God for giving him the barest taste of what love felt like before snatching it away in the same breath.

But the pain couldn’t be helped. The charade had to end. He’d drawn out his relationship with Chloe for as long as he possibly could.

It was time for her to know the truth.

  



End file.
